Walker Bride

by Bernadette Marie

  Of course, if he didn’t appear on her doorstep maybe he’d drop by her store. That might be even better. She was always on her game when she was at work.

  Pearl turned on the bathroom light and started her shower. Today was going to be stellar.

  Monday mornings were good for business. Lucky girls who were proposed to on Friday or Saturday night flooded Pearl’s store on Monday mornings. There weren’t very many sales, but there were connections made with these overly excited women. They would all be back over the next few months, and they’d bring their excited girlfriends, who would also get married some day. They would rent their tuxedos for their grooms and their groomsmen. Of course, the mothers of the bride and groom would also need dresses. Meeting new brides was one of her favorite things in business.

  During her early afternoon lull, Pearl sat in her back room, at the small table, having a sandwich from the deli down the street. On the table, she had her planning notebook, the one she was recording all new store plans in.

  She’d have twice the room at her new location. There would be room to do multiple fittings if she hired another person. They could carry twice as many dresses and even have the tuxes in store. There was so much to think about.

  But then her mind wandered to her new business partner.

  Would he come around more? Would he bring business to them—somehow?

  Pearl pressed her fingers to her lips. It was hard not to think about it when her morning had been filled with hopeful women who were in love. She’d never been one of them—hopeful. Men came and went in her life. She shook her head. Why would Tyson Morgan be any different? They’d only passed through each other’s lives, really she had nothing to build these fantasies on, but she couldn’t help herself.

  Tyson Morgan wasn’t the kind of man she usually dated. Those men wore suits and drove fancy cars. They were clean shaven and well spoken. So what was it with this man who drove an old farm truck, wore worn out work boots, and a beat up baseball cap that turned her head? He’d consumed her every thought since he’d walked into her store on Friday. How much more could she take of this?

  When the bell above the front door chimed, Pearl’s heart rate shot up. She’d waited all day for him to appear—was this it?

  She fixed her lipstick in the mirror and walked out to the main room to find Lydia standing there with a bottle of champagne in her hand and two glasses.

  “We close tomorrow!”

  Pearl smiled. “Tomorrow?”

  She nodded. “My brother gave us enough to secure the mortgage on the building and do a lot of renovations.”

  “He’ll be meeting us there then?”

  Lydia set the glasses on the counter and began to unwrap the cork. “No, it’s just our names on the title. The paperwork is being drawn up now by the lawyers for us all to sign regarding his investment.”

  “Oh, well that’s fine then.”

  Lydia pulled the cork from the bottle with a pop! They both laughed as she poured them each a glass.

  She picked up the glasses and handed one to Pearl. “Here’s to partnership.”

  “To partnership.” Pearl tipped her glass to Lydia’s.

  “We’re going to make so much damn money,” Lydia giggled as she sipped her champagne. “Already I have three women who have called me wondering when the reception hall will be ready.”

  “Three?”

  Lydia nodded. “People already know what we’re doing, and they can’t wait. This is going to be big,” she said sipping again. “Big.”

  Pearl liked the sound of that. She liked making money, and she loved her job. Hearing Lydia go on about the plans ahead of them seemed to ease Pearls anxious heart hoping that Tyson would walk through the door. Suddenly, she had plenty to think about. There was no room for the distraction of a man right now—even if he was her partner.

  Chapter Twelve

  Tuesday afternoon, Pearl met Lydia after work for celebration drinks and document signing. Wednesday, they met with the realtor and finalized everything before they signed the title to their new building on Thursday.

  Friday, Pearl walked on air as she pushed through the front door of her shop. In two months she would be driving the other direction to work, and she’d be selling wedding dresses in her new store.

  She could hardly remember a time when she’d been so giddy about anything.

  She’d no more turned on the lights when the front door opened, and a flower delivery man walked through with the largest bouquet of roses Pearl had ever seen.

  “I have a delivery for Miss Pearl Walker.”

  “That’s me,” she said walking toward him.

  He handed her his clipboard and indicated the line she was to sign on. She did so and then took the enormous bouquet from him before he left.

  Who on earth could have sent her these?

  She set them on the counter and inhaled their beautiful smell as she searched for the card.

  Congratulations on your new location, partner.

  She checked the envelope for any sign of the sender. Certainly, it had to be from Lydia. It had been blatantly obvious that Tyson had no desire to come back around after they’d their very short interlude over the weekend.

  She’d text Lydia and thank her for them. But before she could retrieve her cell phone from her purse, the store phone began to ring, the UPS driver began carrying in boxes, a bridal party arrived to pick up their dresses, and their tuxes, and then Sunshine walked through the door.

  “Good afternoon,” Pearl smiled as she walked toward her and couldn’t help but pull her in for a hug. “It’s so nice to see you.”

  “Thank you.” Sunshine returned the smile. “I wanted to bring this to you and thank you again for all you did for me this past weekend.” She handed Pearl an envelope.

  “It was my pleasure.”

  “It meant the world to me. You’ll never know just how thankful I was for what you did.”

  “So, how was the wedding?”

  Tears pooled in Sunshine’s eyes, but the smile remained genuine on her lips. “It was better than I could ever have imagined. I don’t think if I had planned the wedding for a year it would have been any nicer.”

  “That’s wonderful.”

  Sunshine nodded to the envelope in Pearl’s hand. “I had pictures printed for you so you could see the dress through all the generations. I may be biased, but I think for my wedding it was the most beautiful.”

  Pearl pulled the photos out of the envelope. The first picture was of Sunshine and her new husband. “You looked radiant.”

  “I did, didn’t I?” she giggled.

  The next picture was obviously her parents’ wedding photo. “Your father was military?”

  Sunshine nodded. “Wasn’t he handsome in his uniform?”

  “Very.” She lifted her eyes to meet Sunshine’s. “How is he?”

  The color turned in Sunshine’s cheeks, and the tears were back. “He’s already in hospice. I don’t think he will be with us much longer. He was very brave on Sunday. It shows in his eyes.”

  “A soldier until the very end.”

  “That’s my father,” she said proudly. “We’re going to wait on a honeymoon and even a reception. Perhaps in the spring, I’ll feel more like celebrating.”

  Pearl thought of telling her about the reception facility they would have by then, but thought she’d better wait. With remodeling, you never could be sure how long things would take to be finished.

  She turned her attention back to the pictures. Just as Sunshine had promised, there were pictures of different brides at different times in the same dress. What a beautiful tradition they had passed down she thought. Pearl realized she’d never even seen her mother’s wedding dress. She wondered what her mother had ever done with it.

  The final photo was Sunshine and her entire family.

  Pearl studied the photo closer. “Phillip Smythe is related to you?” she asked noticing the man on the outer edge of the photo.

 
“You know my uncle?”

  Chills traveled down Pearl’s back. “Officer Smythe is your uncle?”

  Sunshine nodded with great enthusiasm. “Isn’t he a great man?”

  Pearl wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say to that. In fact, she’d never met anyone with a worse disposition than that man. Rumors had always run wild when it came to Smythe and how he treated women. And there was simply something creepy about him. Perhaps it was the way he acted whenever Lydia was around. She knew Lydia’s take on him. She despised the man. However, when Officer Douglas Brant kidnapped Pearl’s sister Bethany, it was Officer Smythe that quickly realized what had happened, and she credited him with saving Bethany’s life. Well—she had saved her own life, but things could have been much worse without Smythe. It was hard to hate him completely.

  Knowing she couldn’t gleefully respond to Sunshine’s comment about her uncle, Pearl slid the photos back into the envelope and noticed the writing on the front.

  “Calligraphy? Did you do this?” she asked examining the writing.

  “Yes. My mother used to do it, and she taught me. I was going to do it for all of my invitations, but, well, we didn’t send any out.”

  “Would you ever consider doing this? I mean people are always looking for someone to write up their invitations and address them. No one has this skill anymore. It’s a lost art.”

  “It is?”

  “Yes. You might give it some consideration. I could certainly pass your name around.”

  Sunshine bit down on her lip. “That would be kind of fun. And after this week, I sure could use something fun.”

  “Give me your phone number. When things settle down for you, we can talk. Besides, when I move my store, there will be a lot of new bridal businesses in the same building. You never know what might happen.”

  For the second time in a week, Pearl watched Sunshine walk out of her store with a smile. It only solidified that Pearl loved what she did. Not every bride’s story was like Sunshine’s, in fact, hers was completely rare. But Pearl knew she’d touched her life, and that meant something.

  As she turned back to the counter, she was met with the beautiful blossoms that filled her store with such wonderful fragrance.

  She’d gone for her phone earlier that morning to text Lydia, and here it was early afternoon, and it was the first time she’d had a chance.

  Thank you for the roses. That was very thoughtful. Pearl xoxo

  She set her phone on the counter and began filing the invoices that had accumulated on the counter when Lydia texted back.

  What roses? I didn’t send roses, but I did talk to the florist that is moving in. I’ll tell you about it. Late lunch tomorrow after you’re done at work?

  Pearl’s skin warmed. They hadn’t been from Lydia. That meant only one other person could have sent them.

  Lunch sounds nice.

  Pearl scrolled through her phone and looked for Tyson’s number, which she didn’t have. She looked at the time. There were no more appointments for the day, and all of her deliveries had arrived. It was past four o’clock, and with that, she decided to take a drive out to the Morgan’s and thank Tyson for the flowers.

  Pearl had decided to drive directly out to the Morgan’s. She’d never actually been there, but she knew where she was headed. If you took the first right off the long dirt road, you went to Tyson’s house. If you kept going you’d end up at her grandfather’s, well, now it was her uncle’s she supposed. Oh, she’d heard her father’s side of things. He was hell bent on them selling the house, but that wasn’t fair, she thought. Her uncle had raised his family in that house, and he’d been the one to take care of her grandfather until he passed. Her father hadn’t done anything but make everyone’s lives miserable. Perhaps a few months ago she would have stood on her father’s side, had he put up an actual fight. However, now she wasn’t so sure. The other side of the Walker family deserved that house and the land they worked. They were a true family.

  Pearl shook the thought away.

  As she neared the Morgan’s, she could see the enormous house come into view. Her breath caught. Lydia and Susan had talked about it over lunch a few times, but she could never have imagined it was that grand.

  The dirt road gave to a paved driveway that circled in front of the enormous house. The front doors were the size of the entire front of her house. Her hands began to shake as she came to a stop behind Tyson’s pickup truck. At least, she knew he was home.

  Pearl put the car into park, unbuckled her seat belt at the same moment her door flew open. With a muffled scream, she looked up to see Tyson glaring down at her.

  “What are you doing here?” Tyson snarled at her.

  “I…well…I just…”

  “Turn the engine back on. You’re not parking here,” he slammed the door.

  Pearl blinked away the tears that had quickly come to the surface and burned her eyes. She turned the car back on and swiftly threw it into reverse as the passenger door opened.

  “Whoa! Don’t run me over,” Tyson growled as he slid into the passenger seat and shut the door.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Drive up the road and around the house. There is another road that leads to the barn.”

  “If you’re too busy, I can…”

  “Drive,” he barked.

  Pearl backed away from his pickup and drove around it to the road he’d pointed out.

  In silence, they drove, at least, another mile down the private road to the barn that stood as majestically out in the field as the house had.

  “Park over by the door.” He pointed to a small door that looked as though it might enter into an office.

  She did as he’d demanded and then parked the car.

  For a long silent moment, they both just sat there until she got up the nerve to say what she’d come for.

  “Thank you for the flowers.”

  Tyson rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “You’re welcome.” He let out a long ragged breath. “I’m sorry about that. My grandfather, well, he’s…he’s in a mood,” he said.

  “I’m sorry. I should have called. I mean I tried to, but, I should never have…”

  He cut her words short as he came across the center console and planted his mouth on hers.

  Her breath caught as Tyson cupped her face in his hands and drowned her nerves with a kiss that had heat crawling up her body.

  “Don’t be sorry. Don’t ever be sorry,” he said resting his forehead to hers. “C’mon. Come in with me.”

  He opened the door and slammed it again before walking toward the barn. He looked back at her, and she realized she hadn’t moved. How could she? She was overwhelmed with a dozen emotions.

  Eventually, she gathered her senses and climbed out of the car. Shutting her door, she followed him into the barn.

  She had been right. The door led to a private office, which she thought was nicer than any office in any high rise she’d ever seen.

  “Yours?” she asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s nice. So this is where you come to work every day?” she pried as she looked around the room.

  “It’s where I hide mostly.” He moved to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. It was equally as quick as the embrace had been in the car. Enough so that Pearl staggered back before she was able to rest her hands on his chest.

  Tyson bent to kiss her gently on the lips. The moment both confused and soothed her.

  “I’ve been thinking about you,” he said softly, still holding her close.

  “You have? I thought you were mad at me or too busy for me. Or just not interested,” she said with her voice dipping into the emotion she was feeling. She locked eyes with him, and she saw his go sad. Taking a breath, she continued, “I haven’t seen or heard from you all week. And the last time I saw you, well, let’s just say I thought you were very interested.”

  He let a slow groan rattle from his throat as he closed his eyes for a mome
nt and then reopened them. “Lydia thinks it’s best if we don’t see each other since we’re partners.”

  Pearl grit her teeth. “That’s sensible,” she agreed and hated it.

  “And I told her that’s how it would be.”

  That ripped through her, and she ached. “Then why are you holding me?”

  “Because you’re here.”

  She swallowed hard. “Why did you kiss me?”

  “Because I couldn’t stand not to.” He gently kissed her again as if to make a point.

  “I just wanted to thank you for the flowers,” she managed with a shaky voice. “It was very thoughtful of you.”

  “You’re going to do great in the new location. It’s a nice place.”

  Pearl pushed back so she could gather her thoughts. “You’ve been there?”

  He nodded. “A few times. Lydia is very excited about it. I met the realtor and signed what I had to sign.”

  Pearl pinched the bridge of her nose. “So you only ignored me because of Lydia?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I shouldn’t be here.” Pearl pushed her shoulders back and tried to swallow the disappointment that was brewing in her belly. “She’s probably right, you know. It would get very messy if we got involved.”

  Tyson nodded as he moved toward her. “You and I come from very deceptive families. They lie and cheat to get what they want.”

  Pearl willed away the threat of tears. She was Byron Walker’s daughter. And Byron Walker’s daughter didn’t cry when things weren’t going her way—or when someone pointed out reality.

  “You’re right. Our families do that. You and I, and Lydia,” she added, “aren’t like that. If she thinks this is a bad idea, then we forget about it. We go on and…forget about it.” Her voice shook as Tyson moved in even closer now, scooping her up with her legs wrapped around him and pressed against the wall.

  His mouth came back to hers in a fury of heat and need, and she responded in kind. As the heat rose in her belly, she fought off the voices that told her to push him away, but instead she wrapped her legs around him tighter.